discovery_skill

Overview

This skill helps you master user discovery and research practices to validate problems before building. It teaches interview structure and techniques, synthesis methods like affinity mapping and persona creation, and journey mapping to uncover opportunities. Use it to turn customer conversations into clear product decisions and prioritized insights.

How this skill works

It guides you through recruiting and running 30–60 minute customer interviews, including scripts and time-boxed sections (opening, context, deep dive, impact, exploration, closing). After interviews it shows how to synthesize notes via affinity mapping, derive personas from evidence, map current-state customer journeys, and extract five key metrics to prioritize work. It also prescribes mixed-method sequencing (qualitative first, surveys to validate) and troubleshooting steps to recover from low participation or bias.

When to use it

• At product discovery to validate problem/solution fit
• Before writing requirements or roadmaps
• When building user personas and targeting segments
• To prioritize product opportunities based on customer impact
• When onboarding research practices across a team

Best practices

• Run 20–25 interviews across power users, light users, and non-users
• Follow the 30–60 minute interview structure and ask Why five times for root causes
• Listen 70% / talk 30% and avoid leading questions
• Record (with consent), take timestamped notes, and debrief within 24 hours
• Synthesize with affinity mapping and rank themes by frequency and impact

Example use cases

• Validate the #1 problem and whether users will pay before building an MVP
• Create 1–2 page personas with quotes, goals, pains, and decision journeys for stakeholders
• Map current-state customer journeys to identify friction in onboarding or support
• Run mixed-method research: exploratory interviews then a 100+ person survey to scale findings
• Diagnose low research participation and fix recruitment or incentives quickly